Neither could destroy SpaceX satellites as fast as they can be launched. No State can.
The issue would be whether they could cause enough damage to make the orbital plane (temporarily) unusable.
The issue would be whether they could cause enough damage to make the orbital plane (temporarily) unusable.
I also think that both countries could launch geosync satellites or using existing geosync satellites to just generate a shitton of noise on whatever spectrum Starlink would use.
Starlink of course won't get a license for spectrum in either country.
The probably is there for a reason though, the exact extent of their capabilities is unclear.
Here's a citation: https://thediplomat.com/2022/06/chinas-directed-energy-weapo...
I would not call it rumors. If you'd like a more authoritative citation, here is a DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency, i.e. US military) report cited in the article I cited above: https://www.dia.mil/Portals/110/Documents/News/Military_Powe...
> During the past two decades, Chinese defense research has proposed the development of several reversible and nonreversible counterspace DEWs for reversible dazzling of electro-optical sensors and even potentially destroying satellite components. China has multiple ground-based laser weapons of varying power levels to disrupt, degrade, or damage satellites that include a current limited capability to employ laser systems against satellite sensors. By the mid- to late-2020s, China may field higher power systems that extend the threat to the structures of nonoptical satellites.
The discussion of current capabilities is primarily about optical satellites (though it can be read to include other components), but it probably applies to giant sensitive phased array antennas too.